John
Every time I looked across room 103, I saw the oddest, most annoying girl ever. Rachel Wilson was excessively arrogant, too proud for my liking. At least, that’s what I thought. Every day, she’d stand by her locker and talk to her posse of giggly girls, flipping her raven-black hair and sharing memes that she found on Instagram with her gang. She had the most irritating laugh, like a screeching parrot. My 17-year-old self never wanted to be around her. I thought that Rachel was the most immature high schooler at Diablo Vista High School, maybe in all of California!
Back to reality: my best friend Levi sat next to me in math. We were 10 minutes early, so we leaned back in our chairs and started talking about sports, life, etcetera. After Levi shared his news about his little sister’s 8th birthday, I pulled out my phone and showed him Rachel’s profile picture on Facebook. She was doing the most humiliating thing (I’ll spare you the details).
“Is that Rachel Wilson?” Levi asked.
“Yeah.”
“She’s really cute.”
“Bro, seriously?” I said, surprised. “She’s like, the most annoying girl ever.”
Levi and I argued about Rachel until the bell rang and Mr. Williams walked into the classroom and drew a few equations on the blackboard.
Rachel
I couldn’t stop thinking about John Rivera. His dark, chocolate eyes and tanned skin mesmerized me. I loved the way he moved with confidence, like he wasn’t afraid of being heard. He wasn’t scared of speaking his mind. He never tried to get a girl; they just were attracted to him like a magnet. John was the cutest boy at school, yet he’d never had a girlfriend. I know what you’re thinking: how could a boy like him, the cute golden student, never get a date?
Well, he turned down every last one.
The thing was, even though we knew that, we all still hoped to become something to him. Someone. It was better than him not knowing we existed, although if he chose one of us, it would probably start an all-out war of jealousy. Okay, definitely start an all-out war of jealousy.
The deafening ring of the school bell jerked me out of my thoughts. I hit my head on the water fountain and swore under my breath. Ugh, what the heck? You have to be kidding me. I had gotten carried away with my thoughts about my stupid crush. Now, I was late for class! I grabbed my backpack and books from my locker, papers flying everywhere, and ran to math.
John
The door slammed two minutes into the lesson and Rachel rushed to sit down. All the seats were taken except one in the back. Rachel quietly took it, under Mr. Gonzalez’s stern glare. The seat was opposite of where she usually sat, at the front of the class. I rolled my eyes. What a snobby, smart aleck!
I looked in my backpack for a pencil to write notes with, but couldn’t find one. Seriously?! Why?! This was so embarrassing! Who in the world forgets their pencil in high school?!
I slowly raised my hand and Mr. Gonzalez called on me.
“John Rivera?”
“Uhhh…does anyone have an extra pencil?”
No one nodded or raised their hands.
Except Rachel.
She stood up and walked over to me. While she bent down to give me the pencil, she slipped a note into my hand. Smiling at me, she went back to her desk.
I unfolded the note:
Meet me in the gym at lunch, 12:00 sharp
I folded the note and stuck it in my pocket. It was then I realized that Rachel was actually a kind person. No other girl was as kind as she had been a few minutes before. A thought overtook me, and at 12, I ran to the gym.
Rachel
When the bell rang for lunch, I rushed to the gym.
I waited there for about 10 minutes. All I did was think about John. What if he didn’t come? I would be crushed. What was I thinking? John Rivera? ME?!
Then he came. I was taken aback once again.
“Um, hi,” I stammered.
“Hi.”
He paused, and I thought he was done. However, he wasn’t.
“I used to think you were annoying and immature,” he started. “But now I realize that I was wrong.”
I looked at him and he looked at me. He looked down at his feet. “I’m so sorry, Rachel. I shouldn’t have judged by appearances. I’m glad you asked me here. Now I’ll ask you.”
He asked the question I’ve been dying to hear.
“Will you go out with me?”
The Lighthouse 